Romeo Was Stupid
by darkswanqueenredybeautysw
Summary: AU. Emma Swan is the English grade nine honors teacher at Storybrooke High. Regina Mills is the English grade twelve AP teacher at Storybrooke. Will this be Emma's year to finally step up and admit her feelings for Regina? SwanQueen, RedBeauty, SleepingWarrior, Sea Devil, with bits and pieces of Outlaw Queen. Contains all characters!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: "Romeo was Stupid"**

 **Author: darkswanqueenredbeautysw**

 **Chapter: 1/?**

"Okay, guy's. When I call your name, just come up and take a book and a card, okay?" Emma explained to her students, setting the box that contained copies of _Romeo and Juliet_ on her desk. "Once you get your book, just write down your name and book number on the index card and pass it up to the front row." She instructed, then began to read down her list. "Alex." The blonde boy stood, grabbing a book and an index card from the box and then sitting back in his seat towards the back of the classroom. "Paige." The young girl seemed to be entranced in a conversation with Ava and her brother, Nicholas, and didn't hear her teacher call her name. "Paige!" Emma called out again, louder this time, snapping the girl to attention. Giving her teacher a sheepish smile, Paige rose from her seat and took a book and a card.

"Sorry…" She mumbled, shrugging and sitting down.

"Pay attention, Ms. Hatter." Emma warned with a smile towards one of her favorite students. "Grace." She continued, not looking up as the student approached her.

"I'm really excited for this. I love Romeo and Juliet." Grace gushed, flipping through the book with a fond smile on her face. Emma looked at her, grateful that at least one of her students enjoyed Shakespeare. "So romantic." Grace added, flashing a smile at Emma before turning on her heel and sitting at her seat.

"Sure, if you leave out all the murder and stupidity." Emma nodded, looking back down at her gradebook. "Henry." This time the blonde teacher looked up, watching as the usually quiet boy made his way up the isle and picked up one of the old, worn out copies of the book. "Excited?" Emma asked, a small smirk playing on her lips, knowing full well that Henry wasn't the biggest fan of Shakespeare.

"Definitely." He replied sarcastically, making his way back to his seat. Emma continued to read down the list, until finally she reached the Zimmer twins, and everybody had gotten their books. Suddenly, the bell rang, and all of the students began to gather their things and head out of the classroom.

"Remember, act one read by Friday!" Emma called out to them, hoping to catch the kids who had rushed out before she could explain the homework further. Emma sat down in her chair, relieved that the day was over. She always needed a break after her chatty grade nine honors class.

"Ms. Swan?" A voice called out softly, and Emma looked up to find Henry standing in front of her.

"What's up, kid?" She looked at him expectantly, giving him a gentle smile. In his hand he still held his copy of _Romeo and Juliet_.

"I think I have a teacher's copy." He explained, holding his book out to her in invitation. Emma took it from him and flipped open the book. On the inside front cover, in neat, black script, was the name _Regina Mills._ "There's notes everywhere." Henry added, sounding slightly amused at getting his mother's old copy of the book. Emma began to flip through the pages, and Henry's statement proved to be true as her eyes caught the neat and organized scribblings of her colleague.

"I didn't see anything." Emma winked at him, holding the book out for him to take back, but the boy shook his head in resistance.

"No way. She'd know it the moment she saw it, you know her." He argued. "She definitely wouldn't want to be the one aiding me in not trying my hardest, either." He shrugged. Emma stared at him for a moment, before reaching into the box next to her desk and handing the boy a new copy of the book.

"Now don't tell me that's Ms. French's." Emma joked, placing Regina's copy of the book next to her bag as a reminder to return it to her later. Henry shook his head with a smile, before thanking her and rushing out of the classroom as not to miss his bus.

Curious, Emma once again picked up Regina's copy of the book and flipped it open. The sight of Regina's name made Emma's stomach a little nervous, and she smiled to herself, sticking the book in her purse.

She gathered her things and left her classroom, beginning to make her way to the English office when she heard a voice call out her name. "Emma!" She turned around quickly to find Ruby Carmine, holding a cardboard coffee tray with three coffee's inside. "You better love me." The Italian teacher teased, taking one of the coffee's from the tray and handing it to Emma, who took it gratefully.

"How can I love you when I know that you don't love me nearly as much as you love the person you got that third coffee for?" Emma teased back, raising the coffee to her lips and taking a sip from it, sighing in satisfaction afterwards. Ruby rolled her eyes. "I thought Belle didn't like coffee?"

"She doesn't, it's tea." Ruby clarified. "Besides, it's not like that."

"Did she ask you to get her some?" The blonde inquired, giving a small smile.

"No…" The other replied, casting her eyes down.

"Uh huh." Emma nodded, turning around and continuing her way to her office, Ruby following her. "Why don't you just ask her to go for coffee _with_ you next time?"

The brunette was about to answer, but Emma had already opened the door to the English center, and Ruby could see Belle French sitting at her desk, crouched over her students essays with a concentrated look on her face. Emma lightly shoved the Italian teacher, who sent a glare her way before taking a step forward and placing the cup of tea down beside the young woman. Before Belle could look up and see who it had been, Ruby turned on her heel and ran out of the room.

Belle looked up from her work, confused. "Ruby." Emma shrugged, setting her bag down on her desk and sitting down. Belle looked at the cup of tea and a light blush settled on her cheeks. After a moment, she pushed her chair away from her desk and left the room, and Emma could hear her heels clicking down the hallway and Belle's melodic voice calling 'Ms. Carmine!' down the hallway.

"Young love. Cute." Emma heard beside her, and lifted her head to see the face of Regina Mills submerged in a copy of _Night,_ by Elie Weisel. The brunette didn't even bother to look up from her book, but still a small smile lingered on her lips as her eyes ran over the pages. Such a book didn't elicit joy from people, at least not normal people, so Emma only assumed that Regina was smiling because of the little exchange between Ruby and Belle. Her heart skipped a beat at the motion.

Emma watched as the grade twelve AP teacher scribbled notes into her book, a small knot in her brow as she concentrated. She thought about the copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ in her bag, wondering if she should return it or not. The blonde opened her mouth to inform Regina, but closed it after another moment. Maybe she'd keep it just for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, mom, have you seen-Oh…" Henry stopped mid-question, coming to abrupt halt in the middle of his living room. Sitting on the clean, suede gray couch was his mother, Regina Mills, and Robin Thatcher, Henry's Earth Science teacher. "Hi, Mr. Thatcher…" The boy mumbled, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Hi, Henry! How are you?" Robin smiled warmly, gently clutching a glass of scotch. Regina held a delicate glass of wine in her own hand, and Henry looked between the two of them with a raised eyebrow. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Robin set his glass down and looked down at his lap for a moment. "Did you finish that I assignment I gave you?" He asked awkwardly.

"Are you actually going to be here in the morning?" Henry asked, turning on his heel and leaving the room in silence.

"Henry!" Regina called after her son, furious.

"It's okay, Regina. He's just a kid." Robin set a hand on the woman's knee, trying to calm her down. "I'm sure it's strange for him to have me around here."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into him lately. All he does is come home and lock himself up in his room. It's a miracle he even came downstairs for that long." Regina sighed sadly, settling into Robin's touch and leaning back into the couch.

"He's fifteen, it's normal. I was like that at his age." Robin encouraged, picking his glass up again and taking a sip of it. "Give it a little time; he'll come around." He added with a gentle smile. Regina looked at him for a moment, before smiling and caressing his cheek with her hand, pulling him in for a tender kiss. After a moment, Robin pulled away and looked at the watch sitting on his wrist, sighing. "I have to…" He began, before Regina cut him off.

"I know, I know. It is a school night." She grinned, lifting herself off of the couch and beginning to walk him to the door.

"Thank you for the drink, love." He exclaimed, smoothing a piece of hair behind her ear. With a smile, he bent down and placed his lips against hers. Before pulling away, Regina allowed herself a moment to melt into the kiss. "I'll see you Friday, yeah?" He asked, stepping away from her. Regina nodded, opening the door for him and waving him off as he made his way to the car.

As she watched him drive away, Regina felt a strange feeling settle into her. Something about Robin threw her off tonight. Maybe it was the way Henry spoke to him and he did nothing, or that she simply was just _bored_ all night, but she couldn't be more relieved that the rest of the night was all hers.

Upstairs, Henry laid in his bed, his cellphone resting on his stomach as he listened to his front door close and his mothers heels click up the stairs, and past his doorway. Letting out a sigh of relief, the phone on his stomach vibrated, and he quickly picked it up. Paige's name shined across the screen, and a small smile cracked his lips.

 _What's up?_ She wrote, and his fingers quickly began to work.

 _Mr. Thatcher just left my house_ , he replied, rolling over in bed and hugging one of his pillows.

 _Are you for serious I still can't believe your mom and him have been together for almost three months now._ Paige texted, and the words made Henry turn his nose up. _She's so lucky_ , she added, and that made his stomach turn in sadness.

 _Ew Paige_ , Henry typed out. _What are you up to?_ He asked, trying to veer away from the subject.

It took a few minutes for the girl to reply, and Henry anxiously waited as he stared at the copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ on his bedside table. _Reading for class, this book sucks_. He laughed out loud, sitting up in bed and opening his laptop that sat at the foot of his bed. Before he could type out a reply, his door opened suddenly.

"Have you seen my copy of _Romeo and Juliet_?" Regina asked, crossing her arms in front of her as she confronted her son. The boy jumped at the sudden intrusion, flinching.

"Jeez, mom. What happened to knocking?" He growled in frustration.

"Oh, you don't deserve that privilege after what happened down there." His mother answered angrily, leaning against the door. Henry looked at her quietly, biting his tongue. He knew it was wrong of him to talk down to Mr. Thatcher, but he also knew that his mom deserved somebody so much better.

"Mom, you're better than him." He replied quietly, looking down at his lap. "I just don't want you to think that he's the only option out there for you." He added.

"Listen, sweetie," Regina began, stepping into the room and sitting down on the end of Henry's bed. "I'm flattered that you're worried about me, but I promise, I know what I'm doing." She explained, giving him a small smile. "Besides, he's a very nice guy. And he's not afraid of me." She laughed.

This caused a giggle to rise out of Henry, and he laughed along with her. "Somehow I don't think that's true." He chuckled, shaking his head. Regina lightly smacked his arm, as if to scold him in the most innocent of ways.

"Alright, alright. Have you seen my book or not?" She asked.

"Oh, no. Actually, Ms. Swan has it." He explained to her about the little mishap in English class, and how he'd returned the book to Emma. "You can borrow my copy, if you want." He offered, grabbing his copy from the bedside table and handing it to her. His mother took it with a smile, and after a minute, the phone in Henry's hands vibrated. He looked down at it, and a dopey grin spread across his face as he read the message from Paige. _Your hair looked good today, by the way._

"Who are you texting?" Regina asked with a quirked eyebrow, not failing to notice the way her sons face lit up at the message.

"Oh, uh…no one. A friend." He brushed her off, swiping his phone open and beginning to text. She thought about pressing it further, but decided to allow the boy his space. She got up to leave the room, stopping in the doorway.

"Don't stay up to late, okay?" She instructed, closing the door behind her. When she climbed into her own bed, she pulled her cellphone from her purse and pulled up Emma Swan's contact. _Are you enjoying my notes, Ms. Swan?_ She hit the 'send' button, and settled in with Henry's book.

On the other side of Storybrooke, Emma Swan only stared down at the message on her phone, frozen. "What's wrong with you?" A voice asked, and the blonde jumped. Ruby looked at her questioningly, grabbing a glass from the cabinet.

"Stop doing that…" Emma mumbled, shaking her head. "Nothing." She sighed, turning her attention back to the book in her hands. Regina's cursive stared back at her, and the corners of her lips turned upwards at the commentary. Feeling a sense of confidence, she swiped to reply. _I particularly like your commentary on Romeo,_ she smiled to herself, hitting 'send.' A moment later, she received a text back.

 _Well, Romeo was quite stupid._

"…Yeah." Emma chuckled to herself. All the while, Ruby looked at her as if she had two heads.


	3. Chapter 3

"So obviously we see a change in Romeo from the very beginning of the play. How?" Emma asked her class, sitting atop her desk with Regina's book in her hands. Instantly, Grace's hand shot up, while some of the other classmates tentatively put their hands up. The blonde looked around for a moment, before deciding to call on Grace before the girl wet herself. "Grace?"

The young brunette smiled brightly as her name came out of her teachers' mouth, and she straightened up in her seat, ready to speak. "Well, even Benvolio and Mercutio mention it in the first scene. Romeo is madly in love with Rosaline, but she kind of wants nothing to do with him and that makes him depressed. Then, when Benvolio and Mercutio make him go to the Capulets party, he forgets all about Rosaline because he meets Juliet." She explained, feeling proud of herself. Meanwhile, Emma nodded with every word she said.

"Exactly! Romeo changes from a lovesick puppy into a hopeful lover." She began to scribble on the board. "You guys should be taking notes…" She warned towards Paige and Ava, who were engaged in their own conversation. When the two didn't notice her, Emma decided it was time to be a bit more teacher-like. "Henry, can you switch seats with Ava, please?" She asked, and that got the girls attention.

Henry blushed lightly, but got up out of his seat from the back row and took his things. Ava reluctantly removed herself from the front and settled into Henry's old seat. Paige sent a look to her teacher, who a raised a challenging eyebrow in return. Henry sat down beside Paige, who gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"We're going to be having a quiz on Act One on Monday, so please make sure you guys read. And I'll know if you used SparkNotes, none of those questions will be on there." Emma announced, sending small looks towards certain students in the class. The class mumbled in comprehension. A small hand rose into the air. "Yes, Nick?"

"Can we use CliffNotes?" He asked with a snicker, resulting in the rest of the class breaking out into giggles. Emma sighed, rolling her eyes. There was always one.

"Boys, no talking. I won't say it again." Regina scolded towards the two boys on the far end of the classroom. The room fell silent for a few moments, and the teacher allowed herself to relax in her chair as she graded last periods homework. But before she knew it, the chatter had started up again. "Bradley! Kevin!" She hissed, getting up from her chair and heading towards the door. "A word, please." She glared at them, holding the door open as the two boys got up. "Eyes on your own papers." She instructed to the rest of the class, walking out for a moment.

The two boys stared at her with wide eyes, something-maybe fear?- growing inside them. "Do you two want to be in this class?" Regina asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The two were silent, their fear overpowering them. "Well?" She pushed.

"Yes ma'am." They stuttered. Regina tried her best to stop her lips from curving into a smile out of amusement.

"Then start acting like it. I'm letting you off with a warning. One more incident and I'm sending you two back to ninth grade with Ms. Swan." She exaggerated, sending the two back into the classroom with a swift motion of her hand. They both muttered an array of 'thank you's,' and settled back into their seats. The period passed soon enough, and the class began to file out after placing their tests on Regina's desk.

"Wouldn't mind going back to that class. Swan's a MILF." Regina heard one of the boy's snicker, and she froze as her pen scribbled across a student's paper.

"The bell has rung, I definitely did not hear that." She shook her head, taking a deep breath. A small spurt of laughter could be heard from the students, but soon died out as the hallway filled with kids and their mindless chatter. Again, Regina received a small moment of silence before she felt a presence looming over her. Before she could say anything, she felt a pair of lips on the top of her head.

"Good afternoon, love." Robin smiled, placing a cup of coffee on her desk. Regina gave him a sincere smile, taking the cup and bringing it to her lips. "Are we still going out tonight?" He asked, hope in his eyes. The woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat, biting down on her lower lip. "Oh no…" Robin frowned, his shoulders slumping in sadness.

"I'm sorry…I have this-thing…" She knew she shouldn't have lied to him, she could tell the truth to him of all people. But the last thing she wanted to do with her Friday night was be with him. It was so much easier to lie to him than tell him the truth and see his heartbroken face. "Rain check?" She asked hopefully, reaching out and grabbing his hand affectionately.

"Right…a thing." He nodded, his mouth forming into a straight line. Once their hands connected, however, he smiled widely and agreed. "Sure, let me know." He grinned, bending down and kissing her lightly.

"Am I interrupting something?" There was a small knock at the door, and the couple broke apart to see Emma Swan standing in the doorway, an apologetic smile on her face. Robin grimaced, before pulling away.

"'Course not." He shook his head, before giving Regina a silent good-bye and walking past Emma. The blonde looked at Regina with a small grin, shrugging lightly and making her way into the classroom.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, reaching into her bag and pulling out Regina's copy of _Romeo and Juliet._ "I just wanted to return this."

"Don't be." Regina shook her head, turning to face Emma. The blonde was taken aback by the sheer force of beauty of the woman in front of her. Her dark hair cascaded around her shoulders, framing her face in a way that would put any model to shame. Her tan skin was complimented by a light blush, making the edges of her cheeks point out slightly. "Did you enjoy it?" She asked with a smirk, taking the book from the blonde.

Emma froze as their fingers grazed each other, her breath visibly hitching in her throat. "I-uh…yeah. It really helped me out in my lesson today." She nodded, trying to regulate her breathing. Regina raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question it.

"I'm glad." She nodded, tucking the book away in her purse. "I suppose now you'll have to help _me_ out." Regina smirked, leaning back in her chair. Emma looked at her for a moment, wondering how much cooler Regina would think she was if she wasn't weak at the knees and could speak coherently at the moment. _Anything_ , she thought to herself, swallowing. She forced herself to stay silent, motioning to the woman to go on. "Come get a drink with me tonight." Regina shrugged, crossing her one leg over the other.

Emma didn't know what to say. It felt as if every part of her had become paralyzed. Every time she tried to open her mouth, nothing would come out. "I-yes. Sure. Sounds fun." She nodded eagerly, taking a deep breath.

"Great! Feel free to invite Ms. Carmine; I'm sure her and Ms. French would love a chance to get to know each other better." Emma's heart fell to her stomach at the thought of having two other people come along, but nonetheless, she nodded her head in agreement. Then, in came Kevin.

"Sorry-I left my planner." The senior apologized, striding over to his desk and grabbing the book, before turning to see Emma standing at Regina's desk. "Oh! Hi, Ms. Swan." He grinned, his eyes quickly running from her head to her toes.

"Hello, Mr. Hartwood." Emma drawled, giving him an exaggerated smile.

"Kevin." Regina glared at him, not forgetting his earlier comment of the English teacher.

"Right. Sorry. Have a good day." He nodded, giving the pair one last smile before exiting the room.

"So it's a date?" Regina turned back to Emma, smiling widely. Emma felt her mouth get dry, but she nodded happily. "Great!"


End file.
